I know why you keep your hands
Curled tightly by your sides
I have seen your cracked nails
The scratches that your fingers hide
What are you ashamed of, I ask?
Those manicured hands are nothing next to you
You have earned each of your scars
And that makes you so beautiful
Yours are the hands that fed me
Wiped my tears when I was hurt
The only hands always there for me
Waiting to catch me when I hit the dirt
Your hands that work day and night
Just to make it easy for me
I see you looking at the others
But they have never loved me
Their hands, I say, are useless
As the beauty of a thorn covered rose
Never have they touched the soft mud after rain
An empty life that they chose
Never touched a child's burning forehead
Never played with the fire of a stove
Gloved that they are, covered by ignorance
Never have they felt love
They won't be able to pull me up
Only your strong fingers can
Hold them aloft for the world to see
Ma, please don't hide your hands
Curled tightly by your sides
I have seen your cracked nails
The scratches that your fingers hide
What are you ashamed of, I ask?
Those manicured hands are nothing next to you
You have earned each of your scars
And that makes you so beautiful
Yours are the hands that fed me
Wiped my tears when I was hurt
The only hands always there for me
Waiting to catch me when I hit the dirt
Your hands that work day and night
Just to make it easy for me
I see you looking at the others
But they have never loved me
Their hands, I say, are useless
As the beauty of a thorn covered rose
Never have they touched the soft mud after rain
An empty life that they chose
Never touched a child's burning forehead
Never played with the fire of a stove
Gloved that they are, covered by ignorance
Never have they felt love
They won't be able to pull me up
Only your strong fingers can
Hold them aloft for the world to see
Ma, please don't hide your hands
